InvadED
by AMX
Summary: A few weeks after Cartoon Network Invaded, a new student moves to Peach Creek. However, what is his true motive? The Eds are about to find out! Ed Edd n EddyInvader Zim crossover. R
1. Prologue

**Author's Note**: Hey, all you readers out there! In case you haven't already found out, I have a DeviantArt account now. On my account is a drawing I made entitled "Invad-ED." Basically, that is what inspired this fic. Between the time I created my DeviantArt account and when I made the picture, I discovered Invader Zim, so this is my first fanfic to feature characters from Invader Zim! Also, just so all of you know, not only does this story include MAJOR spoilers for the Cartoon Network Invaded series, it's set in a different universe than my "Ed Edd n Eddy/Nightmare Before Christmas" fics. Happy reading! ;)-AMX

Summary: A few weeks after the "Cartoon Network Invaded" five-part series, a new student moves to Peach Creek. However, the Eds notice suspicious behavior from the new kid immediately upon meeting him. For one thing...he has green skin! While the Eds try to work on their newest scam, an Ice Hotel, the new kid's motives become more and more clear. Will the Eds have to save the world...again?

00000

**Invad-Ed**

Prologue: The Backstory of Things to Come

Somewhere in the U.S.A., a small town resides. This town is known as Peach Creek. At a first glance, it looks like a peaceful little town, where nothing exciting happens. However, looks are deceiving.

You see, three boys live in Peach Creek. Some call them entertaining; others call them pests. However, most people call them by their names: Ed, Edd (also known as Double D), and Eddy.

Ed is tall, smelly, and not the brightest bulb in the box. Double D is polite, intelligent, and somewhat sarcastic at times. Eddy is short, loud, and obsessed with money. Besides the fact that they all share the same name, there doesn't seem to be anything these three boys have in common. However, if you asked them, you'd find out there _is_one other thing these boys have in common: their love for jawbreakers.

More than once, Eddy has come up with a crazy scam, which Ed and Double D have gone along with (usually) without any complaint. These scams all share the same purpose: to obtain money from the other children living in Peach Creek. For the Eds, as they were respectively called, money equals jawbreakers. Too bad most of the time, they fail.

Because of the Eds' hair-brained schemes, they, along with the other children residing in Peach Creek, have had some crazy adventures.

However, nothing the Eds had previously done could have prepared them for what had happened a few weeks before.

Everyone had woken up one winter morning, hoping for a perfectly normal day. Or…at least as normal as it could get at Peach Creek. However, it immediately spiraled into an adventure crazier than anything the Eds, or the other kids, had ever encountered before.

It all began when one of the neighborhood children, a frail, young boy named Jimmy, had a sweets-induced nightmare about aliens coming and snatching Peach Creek into the sky. Of course, nobody listened to Jimmy's pleas about taking the dream seriously, not even Jimmy's best friend (and Ed's little sister), Sarah.

However, everything changed when Jonny, a young, hippy-like boy, and Plank, Jonny's ever-present piece of wood with a face on it, traveled to the foreign "son-of-a-shepherd", Rolf"s house, only to find a creepy, green glow and intense heat emanating from the house.

After Jonny told everyone else about what he and Plank had witnessed, Kevin, the town's semi-bully and jock, suggested they all investigate; it was then revealed that Ed was missing as well. However, when the group actually got to the house, they panicked when they saw strange shadows from inside the house.

While everyone else retreated into the park, something else strange happened: a huge pod that seemed to be shaped like a cheese wheel crashed into the park. Everyone thought an alien hatched from the strange pod, but that wasn't exactly what happened: inside the pod was Ed, minus his clothes (except for his underwear, thank goodness). Ed confirmed that the strange beings in Rolf's home had an intergalactic tinge to it. It was then that Kevin proposed a rescue mission to save Rolf.

All the kids gathered in Kevin's basement to assemble combat weapons against the aliens. However, once they went back to Rolf's house, the weapons proved to be more effective in theory than in real life. So, they executed one last plan: offer Nazz, the popular pretty girl who was admittedly somewhat of a ditz, as, in short, a sacrifice.

This plan was more effective, actually coaxing one of the aliens out of the house. However, it wasn't the aliens the kids were hoping for; it was only Rolf, and some other type of aliens: his visiting relatives (who were also the ones who took Ed's clothes)!

However, even though that mystery had been solved, even more weird incidents began to happen around Peach Creek. Throughout the rest of the week, the entire town was experiencing strange tremors. Dairy products slowly began disappearing, along with Ed; thankfully, he returned after a few days. The kids couldn't figure it out; was everyone going crazy?

The whole ordeal was explained a week after in the local paper. As it turns out, aliens _had _invaded the Earth. Evidently, it was all started in another town, by a small, blue creature advertising that he had "cheese" from the local observatory; this explained the missing dairy products. As it turns out, Peach Creek wasn't the only place with alien sightings; there were also alleged sightings at an out-of-town elementary school and a summer camp. The drama finally ended in one last town that always seemed susceptible to paranormal phenomena. According to a dim-witted boy with a big nose, a young girl with a nasty disposition, and a tall, pale man, the aliens needed the dairy products to rebuild the moon, or they would turn into werewolves. After a battle in space, the aliens were defeated, and Earth's dairy products were saved. The article also stated that the aliens had abducted a small town (which explained the "tremors" Peach Creek had been experiencing) and that the dumbest civilian from each town had been taken for experimentation (which explained Ed's disappearance).

The article explained everything. It was all there, in black and white. Everyone should have felt at peace, right?

Of course, the Eds felt more at peace. However, that didn't stop them from feeling extremely paranoid.

There was only one thing that could shake this extreme paranoia: a new scam. And this one was a doozy.


	2. A New Threat

**Invad-Ed**

Chapter 1; A New Threat?

"Come on! Make it straighter!"

This is what Eddy was ordering Ed and Double D to do. The three boys were presently in the middle of the woods outside Peach Creek, making a scam unlike anything Eddy had thought of before.

"Eddy, are you sure the other kids will find this appealing?" asked Double D.

"Sure they would!" said Eddy. "Nobody can resist…" (Insert dramatic pause here) "…an ICE HOTEL!"

Double D had to admit; the structure he, Ed, and Eddy were currently working on was definitely impressive. It was growing so tall, they could see the tops of the snow-covered trees! It wasn't like any igloo Double D had constructed in any past winters. And the water they were pouring onto the giant building made it even sturdier.

"Well, I do admit the structure is impressive…" said Double D. "But do you honestly think anyone would want to stay here overnight? And what about when spring rolls around? Surely this thing won't last through spring!"

"Already got it covered, Double D," said Eddy. "This isn't just an ice hotel. Since we've got a perfect view of the cul-de-sac from here, there's nobody to stop us from burying everyone else with the biggest barrage of snowballs Peach Creek has ever seen!"

Double D sighed, climbing down from the ladder he had been currently situated on; not an easy feat when you're wearing an overstuffed orange fleece winter coat and huge snow pants.

"I should have known," said Double D. "Did you even take in the possibility that the other children might retaliate?"

"Against this monster?" asked Eddy, gesturing toward the Ice Hotel. "Unlikely! Right, Ed?"

However, Ed wasn't listening. He was over on the other side of the giant Ice Hotel. He was wearing a light green sweater with "Ed" and a small kitten's head stitched on the front of it, along with a purple and white striped stocking hat. Also, his tongue was about six inches away from the wall of the Ice Hotel. But just as tongue and wall were about to touch…

"ED!"

Ed's tongue zipped back into his mouth. He turned toward Eddy.

"Ed!" Eddy called again. "Don't you dare! Remember what happened last time you stuck your tongue on something frozen?"

Ed sheepishly looked at the ground. "I wanted to see if it was true…" he said.

"Well, it just goes to show you, Ed," said Double D. "You shouldn't try everything you see in a movie." He then turned toward the sky, and saw that the sun was quickly beginning to set. "Oh, my," said Double D. "Where has the time gone? We best be getting home now, gentlemen. We have school tomorrow."

Eddy scoffed. "Don't remind me," he grumbled. He then stuck his mahogany-gloved hands into the pockets of his yellow and dark purple winter coat. "I guess it's fine with me. I'm getting cold."

Double D looked back at Ed. "Ed, are you coming?" he asked. "Surely, you don't want Sarah coming out here looking for you again…"

"Just a couple more minutes!" said Ed.

Eddy shrugged. "Whatever," he said. "See ya tomorrow!" He then began to walk home.

"Fare thee well, gentlemen!" said Double D, also heading home.

Ed, on the other hand, was now in another world. He may not have been the brightest Ed, but if there was anything his peanut-sized brain was useful for, it was creating brand new worlds inspired by the ones he read about in his comic books.

This time around, due to the recent adventure with the aliens, Ed was a great space hero, defending the Earth's dairy products from invading werewolf aliens. At the moment, he was imagining that one of the alien ships had spiraled out of control and was heading straight for Earth. He imagined the ship careening closer and closer, until…

BOOOOOOOM!

Ed opened his eyes. "Wow, I'm good!" he said, referring to the realistic-sounding explosion. Then he turned around…and saw that for once, this wasn't a figment of his imagination.

In another part of the woods, smoke was billowing up from among the trees.

Ed blinked. Then, he began a monologue based on his space cowboy persona. "It seems that an unidentified object has presented itself on the innocent town of Peach Creek!" he exclaimed out loud. "Who amongst the brave civilians will investigate this situation?" He looked around, seeing that he was, indeed, alone…except for the thing that had crashed about twenty feet away. "I will investigate!" Ed then declared, running in the direction of the smoke.

The sun had now fully set, and it was getting harder to see by the second. Ed hoped he'd be able to find whatever had crashed before it got pitch black.

Finally, he got to a small clearing in the wood that was surrounded by bushes. Ed cautiously crouched down and peeked through a bush. His monobrow-clad eyes widened in surprise.

In the middle of the clearing, three figures stood. One appeared to be a small creature, standing on two legs. Ed couldn't see much because of the darkness night brought, but he could see a few distinguishing characteristics about the figure. He looked even shorter than Eddy, and Ed could have sworn he saw two thick, black antennas on the top of the figure's head.

'Cool…' Ed thought.

There were two other figures next to the weird-looking figure. One appeared to be made of metal, with glowing cyan eyes. Ed guessed it was some kind of robot. The other figure was the smallest. Not only that, it was floating in mid-air, and it sounded like it was…squeaking.

'COOL!' Ed thought.

But the biggest thing in the area was what caught Ed's attention the most. It was a giant purple spaceship with a strange insignia emblazoned on the side of it. It was halfway buried in a crater in the middle of the clearing; no doubt that _that _was the thing that had crashed. At the moment, the three figures were looking at the wreckage.

Ed jumped at the sudden sigh that came from the first figure. He scooted back a little into the bushes.

"Surprisingly, that was one of Zim's better landings," said the first figure. He sounded annoyed. "Well, since it's going to take a while to fully repair the Voot Cruiser, we're going to have to take refuge here. And who knows? Maybe this new town won't have any nosy human filth. Unlike…_him_…" The last part sounded like it was ground out through clenched teeth.

Ed's head tilted slightly in confusion.

"Let's make biscuits!" the cyan-eyed robot suddenly exclaimed in a high-pitched voice.

The first figure whirled around to face the little robot. "Gir…" it growled. "What did I tell you about using that word?"

"Aww…" said the robot (Ed guessed it was named Gir).

The first figure sighed. "You and MiniMoose will simply have to find some other way of entertaining yourselves," it said.

The third figure (Ed guessed this was MiniMoose) let out a squeak.

"I shall have to see about enrolling into this town's local school tomorrow," said the first figure. "If it's anything like the puny Earth-school I attended in the previous town we resided in, it shouldn't be that hard…"

Ed leaned out just a little bit farther, so he could hear better.

"And then…maybe then…" the first figure continued, "I'll reach my ultimate goal…to CONQUER THIS PUNY PLANET AND ALL WHO INHABIT IT!"

"YAY!" said Gir.

Ed gasped. At the same time, he lost his balance and fell face-first into the snow and the bush.

The first figure whirled around at the sudden noise "WHO'S THERE?!" it shouted. "WHO DARES INVADE THE PROPERTY OF ZIM?!"

Ed panicked.

"RUN AWAY!" he shouted, scrambling up and sprinting in the opposite direction, not bothering to look back.

The first figure ran to where Ed had been hiding. He looked down at the face-print Ed had left in the snow.

"YAY!" said Gir, also running over, followed by MiniMoose. "Let's play tag!" He began to run in the same direction as Ed had.

"No, Gir!" said the first figure (A/N: I bet you can guess who it is by now), grabbing the robot by an antenna that protruded from his head. "Zim shall deal with that Earth spy later." He turned back to his crashed vehicle. "Now…" he said, "…we must set up our temporary base. Who knows what we will encounter here…?"


	3. The New Student?

**Invad-Ed**

Chapter 2: The New…Student?

"…And it had a giant spaceship, and a robot, and a squeaky moose, and these long, hideous, black antennas growing out of its head!"

It was the next day, and Ed was describing his discovery from the night before to Eddy and Double D as they roamed the Peach Creek Jr. High halls. However, Eddy and Double D weren't exactly interested…

"Ed, _please _no more aliens," said Double D. "I'm still recovering from our last episode…"

"Yeah, chill out, Lumpy," said Eddy. "We got other things to worry about at the moment. Like, you know, our super-awesome ICE HOTEL!"

"Which, according to my calculations, won't be done before the spring thaw at the pace we're working," said Double D.

"WHAT?!" asked Eddy. "That's not fair! That settles it! As soon as school gets out, we're going right back into those woods and working twice as hard!"

"…But we have to get our homework done first, if we have any," said Double D. "And_you _have to help now!" he added, pointing at Eddy.

"Fine, whatever," Eddy grumbled. "As long as we keep Monobrow's mind off of aliens, and as long as there isn't anything to distract us, we'll be fine."

At this point, the three Eds were at their first period classroom. They all went in and took their seats. It wasn't until they were all situated in their seats that they noticed the unfamiliar person standing in front of the class.

'_Huh?_' all three Eds, and for that matter, the rest of the kids in their seats thought at the same time. And for good reason.

There was something…odd…about the kid that was standing in front of the class. For one thing, his skin was…green! His outfit also looked a little…off. He was wearing a magenta-colored shirt with pink sleeves; black stripes went down the sleeves and the body of the shirt. He was also wearing black gloves, black pants, and black boots. The most notable item he wore, however, was a circular pack on his back. His hair was styled similarly to the wig Eddy wore for his Halloween costume, and his eyes were a light purple. Needless to say, this kid was quite a sight.

"Class, before I begin the lesson, we have a new student with us starting today," said the teacher. "This is Zim."

Eddy snorted. '_Zim?_' he thought. '_What kinda dumb name is that?_'

"Zim, is there anything you'd like to say about yourself?" asked the teacher.

Zim gave the class a toothy grin. Double D, who sat at the front of the classroom, was able to see how Zim's teeth seemed to be shaped…irregularly. They didn't look like human teeth.

"Hello, worm-babies," said Zim. "I am a normal Earthling, just like all of you."

This raised a few more eyebrows.

"What a weirdo," Kevin murmured to Nazz and Rolf.

'_That's really something I'd expect from Ed,_' thought Double D, also perplexed by Zim's words.

"Just don't make any contact with me and we'll all get along just fine," Zim concluded.

"Very well, Zim," said the teacher. "You can sit in the empty seat next to Eddward."

Double D looked at the empty seat next to him. His attention shifted back to Zim as the new boy walked-no, more like _marched_-to the empty desk and sat down.

However, as Zim sat down, he did a double take. He was looking at Ed, who sat way in the back of the classroom with Eddy. That was the same boy from the night before!

'_So he _is_here,_' Zim thought. '_Curse these classes; I can't erase his memory with all these witnesses around. I'll have to do it later._'

Meanwhile, Double D's attention was focused on the teacher, who had started his lecture. However, as he was writing down notes, a paper ball suddenly bounced off his head and landed on his desk. Double D turned around and looked at the back of the room. Eddy was gesturing to Double D to open up the paper ball. Double D did what he was asked.

_**Hey, did you check out the new kid?**_

Double D winced at Eddy's atrocious handwriting, and then quickly wrote out a response while the teacher's back was turned.

_Eddy, must we go through this with every new student? Whatever happened to "no distractions"?_

He then folded the note a little neater, and then threw it as quietly as he could back to Eddy.

A few minutes later, Double D got the note back.

_**He's wearing a dress!**_

HIS HAIR IS COOL.

Double D did a mental "groan" not only about Eddy's comment, but also at Ed's even more atrocious handwriting, and stealthily wrote another response while trying to pay attention to what the teacher was saying.

_Well, I do admit, his clothing choices are a little…out there…but that does not give you two the right to perform a full-on _analysis_ on him!_

Double D tossed the note back to Eddy.

Soon, most of the students (including Zim) were paying more attention to the note that was flying back and forth throughout the classroom. Comments flew back and forth between the three Eds.

_**He doesn't have ears! Or a nose!**_

_Ed doesn't have a chin, Eddy._

_**And your point is?**_

_Come on Eddy! Can't we have at least one student in which you don't put him under a microscope?_

_**What fun is that?**_

I LOVE CHICKENS, GUYS!

_**Shut up, Ed!**_

I WANNA WEAR THAT THING ON HIS BACK.

_Oh, enough of this! I refuse to partake in this discussion any longer, thank you very much!_

Double D threw the note back to Eddy. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Eddy read the note; Eddy's face became annoyed. He quickly wrote out a response and threw the note back to Double D. But just as Double D went to catch it…

A black-gloved hand shot out and grabbed the note while it was still in mid-air. Double D watched in horror as Zim opened the note and began to read it. Thankfully, just as it had happened, the bell rang.

As the students got up from their desks to go to their next period class, Zim slowly got up from his desk and marched over to Double D's. He still held the note. He stopped when he was right in front of the desk.

"I believe this belongs to you," he growled. He then slapped the note down onto the empty desk, hard. Double D was in shock as he watched Zim march out of the classroom.

"Geez, what's his problem?" Eddy asked as he and Ed walked up to Double D.

Double D glared at his two friends as he gathered his things and they exited the classroom.

"I hope you two are real proud of yourselves," Double D said as they walked through the halls. "The new student has only been here for one period, and he's already mad at us!"

"He is?" asked Ed.

"Yeah, I know," said Eddy. "That's gotta be a new record!"

Double D sighed. "Well, if he's in any other classes with either of you, you'd better not do anything more to anger him. There's no telling what he'd might do in retaliation."

"Oh, come on!" said Eddy. "Did you see the size of him? He goes up to about my chin! You honestly think he'd be able to do something to us?"

"He is so puny!" Ed exclaimed.

"I did notice his stature, Eddy," said Double D. "He appeared to be about the same size as Sarah. Are you going to tell me _she's _innocent, too?"

"Well…uh…" Eddy didn't have an answer to that one.

Double D glanced at the clock in the hallway. "Look, I have to go to my next class before the bell rings," he said to Eddy and Ed. "If I hear any word about you two causing trouble…" he paused. "…You can count me _out _of the Ice Hotel scam!"

"WHAT?!" said Eddy. "That's not fair!"

"Life's not fair, Eddy," said Double D as he ran down a different hallway, leaving Eddy and Ed by themselves.

"Party pooper," Eddy grumbled.

"Party?" asked Ed. "Can I bring the chips?"

"Shut up, Ed."

* * *

Author's Note: In case you're wondering, Eddy's notes are bold and italicized, Double D's notes are italicized, and Ed's notes are all in caps.-AMX 


	4. Lunch Conversations

**Invad-ED**

Chapter 3: Lunch Conversations

Even though one of Eddy's favorite games was "Let's Torture the New Kid," he didn't want to risk Double D quitting the Ice Hotel scam. So, he begrudgingly didn't do anything else to Zim throughout the remainder of his classes. However, that did not stop him from noticing some strange things about Zim. Mainly, in History class.

Throughout the whole class, Zim kept asking strange questions, such as how prepared Earth would be against, say, a full-on alien invasion. Of course, the teacher didn't take any of the questions seriously, and they earned Zim some weird looks from the other students, especially Kevin and the Kanker sisters.

Eddy also noticed that Zim acted strangely around Ed. Whenever everyone was roaming the halls between classes, Eddy noticed that Zim would follow Ed everywhere. Then, when most of the children were gone from the halls, Zim would look around, to confirm nobody was around, then get right behind Ed and reach into his pocket. This was when Eddy would make himself known; then Zim would look annoyed and scurry into the other direction.

Eddy couldn't figure it out. What was Zim up to, and why did it involve Ed? But it would have to wait. Now, it was lunchtime!

As usual, the Eds all sat at the same table after they had gotten their lunches.

"I trust you two haven't traumatized the newest student?" asked Double D.

"Relax, will ya?" asked Eddy. "We didn't do anything. He's still weird, though."

"Really?" asked Double D. "In what way?"

"Oh, you know," said Eddy. "Kept askin' all these weird questions in class, and he's been stalking Ed."

"_Stalking _Ed?" asked Double D.

"I know," said Ed. "I'm scared, too. Especially with the brain-sucking alien on the loose…"

"Oh, can we just_drop it_?" asked Eddy. "Let's talk about something more important. Like, you know, our…"

"Ice Hotel?" asked Double D, whipping out a blueprint. "Way ahead of you. According to my calculations, we should be able to start the interior soon…"

"Forget that!" said Eddy. "Just skip to the part where we're raking in the moolah! Right, Ed?"

But Ed wasn't listening. He was staring in the other direction. Eddy and Double D also looked. They immediately realized why Ed was staring.

Zim was standing in front of them, staring at Double D's blueprint.

"What is this structure?" Zim asked, pointing at the blueprint.

"It's our Ice Hotel!" Ed answered. "We're gonna let people stay in it and use the money to buy jawbreakers! Right, Eddy?"

Eddy glared at Ed. "Why don't you tell him my shoe size while you're at it, Ed?" he asked.

Ed looked confused. "Why?" he asked.

While Ed and Eddy talked, Zim slipped into the chair next to Double D, causing the sock-headed boy to scoot away from him. Zim carefully observed Double D's intricately drawn plans.

"This "Ice Hotel," as you call it, seems to be fashioned more like a fortress suitable for war than a shelter for humans," he said.

Double D looked at the plans. Zim was right; because of the structure's double use, he had stylized it to also look like a fort. "Well, uh…" he stammered, "I suppose that's one way to look at it…"

"Oh, that's 'cause it's also a fort for us to throw snowballs at people who don't want to stay there," said Ed. "That was Eddy's idea."

"I see," said Zim. "Tell Zim, where is this structure located?"

Eddy just stared for a few seconds; he was surprised because Zim seemed genuinely interested in what he was planning. "Uh…we're building it in the woods behind the cul-de-sac," he said. "It's impressive, if I do say so myself."

"Especially since you're going to be helping us now," said Double D. "_Right_, Eddy?"

"Yeah, yeah…" said Eddy.

Zim looked out the window at the snow-covered ground outside. "Hmm…can you answer something else for Zim?"

"I suppose," said Double D.

"This…snow…stuff outside…" said Zim. "Is it poisonous?"

"Only if it's yellow," said Eddy. He and Ed burst into laughter.

"I forgot what he said!" said Ed.

Double D glared at his two friends, then looked at Zim. "No, Zim," he said. "Snow is_not _poisonous. It's just frozen water crystallized into…"

"WATER?!" Zim exclaimed, causing all three Eds to stare at him. "Uh, I mean…water! Of course! I knew that; I was just making sure." He slowly got up. "I must leave now. Thank you for the information, uh…"

It was then that the Eds realized that Zim didn't know their names.

"I'm Eddy," said Eddy.

"I'm Ed," said Ed.

"I'm Edd, with two D's," said Double D. "Call me Double D."

Zim stared at the three strange boys. "So, let's see if Zim has this straight," he said. "You three humans…" As Zim talked, he pointed at the Eds. "…are all basically known as 'Ed'?"

"You bet your sweet bippy we are," said Ed.

"Interesting," said Zim. "Because another human here seems to call you three by a different name. 'Dork', I believe it was."

Eddy scowled. "Which human?" he asked.

Zim pointed behind them at another table; all three Eds looked. As expected, Zim was pointing at Kevin.

"Eh, don't listen to anything Kevin says," said Eddy. "He's a jerk."

"A…jerk," Zim repeated. "Zim will remember this. Thank you again…Eds." He then marched away without another word.

The Eds looked at each other.

"Well…that was weird," said Eddy.

"Well, since lunch is almost over, I say all three of us should keep looking over the plans at recess," said Double D.

Just then, the bell rang.

"RECESS!" said Ed, running out the lunchroom doors.

Eddy looked at Double D. "And by that, you mean…?" Eddy asked.

"I say you and I keep looking over the plans while Ed romps around in the snow," said Double D.

"That's what I thought you said," Eddy said.

But little did they know, something was waiting for them outside…


	5. Invasion of the Peanut Brains

**Invad-Ed**

Chapter 4: Invasion of the Peanut Brains

Before the Eds knew it, they were all bundled up and outside on the snowy playground. As Ed was romping around in the snow, Eddy and Double D were sitting on one of the available benches, still going over their Ice Hotel plans.

Ed was having the time of his life, burrowing through the cold snow. Suddenly, as he was tunneling, he hit something with his head. He popped up from under the snow, seeing he had made a tunnel that has brought him to the fence that surrounded the schoolyard.

"Hello?" he asked, hoping whatever he had hit would come out of his hiding place.

Suddenly, a small, lime green head with big eyes popped up from under the snow.

"HI!" it said in a high, screechy voice.

Ed's face broke into a big, excited grin.

Meanwhile, Zim was observing the other students from behind the school building. Rolf and Kevin were playing basketball, while Jonny and Nazz cheered them on. Sarah and Jimmy were making a snowman. The Kankers were preparing a barrage of snowballs (filled with chunks of ice and rocks, of course) to throw at anyone who provoked them. Eddy and Double D were looking at the same blueprint they were looking at during lunch.

'_Pathetic,_' Zim thought as he rolled his eyes (if he had a nose, he probably would have snorted). Then he saw Ed, crawling around through the snow, and his face also broke into a grin. However, unlike Ed's, Zim's grin was much more malicious.

'_Yes!_' he thought. '_The human is finally by himself! Now's my chance to erase his memory and make him forget all about our little…encounter last night._'

All the kids were suddenly interrupted from their activities by a sudden maniacal laughter from near the school building. Suddenly, all eyes were on the new kid; it wasn't until Zim saw that everyone was staring at him did he stop laughing.

"I'M NORMAL!" he shouted at the kids.

Apparently, that was good enough for the kids. Aside from a grumbled "Freak" from Kevin, nobody seemed to think it was out of the ordinary; hey, Eddy broke into maniacal laughter all the time.

Zim ducked behind the school building again and pulled out a small communicator.

"Gir!" he said into it. "Come in!" A pause. No answer. "Gir, do you copy?" Zim asked again. "I need you to bring me my Memory Wiper!" Still no answer. The Irken growled in frustration. "That idiotic robot," he muttered under his breath. "Where _is _he?"

"EDDY! DOUBLE D! I FOUND A PUPPY!"

"EEE-HEE HEE HEE!"

Zim stopped. He knew that shriek. He jerked around and looked around the school wall so fast, he almost gave himself whiplash.

Sure enough, Ed was in front of Double D and Eddy, holding something in his arms. It was Gir, in his lime green dog disguise.

"Can I keep him, guys?" Ed was asking Double D and Eddy as he tightly held the dog he found. "Can I, can I, can I?!"

Eddy and Double D were giving their friend a weird look, not understanding why he was making such a big deal over a green mutt.

"Goodness, Ed," said Double D. "It's just a dog. Although…it's certainly not like any dog I've ever seen…"

"Hey, it ain't my mutt," said Eddy. "Go crazy, Ed."

"YAY!" said Ed. He began to pet Gir on the head, hard. "Purr like a puppy. Purr like a puppy. Purr like a puppy…"

"Ed, don't hurt it!" said Double D.

"MEOW!" said Gir.

"Ed, if you're gonna play with that thing, at least do it somewhere else," said Eddy. "Unless, of course, you wanna help us with the plans…"

Ed's eyes widened. He put Gir down. "RUN AWAY!" he suddenly yelled, running back toward the snow.

"YAY!" said Gir, running after Ed. "WE'RE RUNNING! WE'RE RUNNING! WOOOOO!"

This caused Eddy to raise an eyebrow. "Did that thing just _talk_?" he asked.

"Huh?" Double D asked; he had been too busy looking over the blueprint to notice.

"GIR!"

Eddy and Double D turned around again, only to see Zim angrily marching toward them…unfortunately, plowing right through Jimmy and Sarah's snowman to do so.

Zim stopped when he was next to the bench Eddy and Double D were sitting at.

"Oh, is that your dog, Zim?" Double D asked.

"_Yes_," Zim hissed. "Now tell your friend to…"

"HEY!"

Zim was interrupted as a _very _angry Sarah stomping toward the three boys.

"Who do you think you are, bub?" Sarah asked Zim. "LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO OUR SNOWMAN!" She pointed back to the stomped-on remains of the snowman; Jimmy was next to it, crying.

"Hmph!" Zim scoffed. "That's an improvement if you ask Zim. It was an eyesore. And just what can _you _do about it, Stink-beast?"

Eddy and Double D covered their eyes as a seething Sarah proceeded to beat the stuffing out of the new kid.

The next thing they knew, a battered and torn shirt-clad Zim was diving under the bench they were sitting on.

"You mess with us again, and you're _dog meat_!" Sarah shouted before going back over to Jimmy.

Eddy looked down at the twitching Zim under the bench. "Rule number one, kid," Eddy said to him. "Do _not_, under any circumstances, upset Ed's little sister."

"Ed-human?" Zim asked, cautiously coming out from under the bench. "You mean to tell me that _she-beast _was the Ed-beast's _sister_?"

Eddy raised an eyebrow. "You talk funny," he said, "but yeah, Sarah is Ed's sister. Hard to believe, huh?"

The three then looked at Ed and Gir, who were now rubbing their heads against a tree located on the playground.

"Rub your head, rub your head," the two were saying. "Rub your head, rub your head…"

"Ah, yes," said Zim. "That reminds me. GIR!" Once again, he began to angrily march over to the two.

"Oh, come on, Zim," said Double D. "They're just playing."

Zim whirled around to face Double D. "I did not get Gir so he could 'play'," he said. "Zim is his master; therefore, he must do what ZIM tells him to!"

Eddy stared at Zim. Then he shook his head. "Geez, _somebody_ has…that one thing…with that short guy…"

"You mean a Napoleon complex, Eddy?" asked Double D.

"Yeah, that's it."

Zim paid no heed to Eddy and Double D and continued over to Ed and Gir.

"GIR!" he said again.

Ed and Gir stopped rubbing their heads.

"Hi, Master!" said Gir.

"Hello, Zim," said Ed, completely unfazed by the fact that Gir was talking. "You wanna rub your head with us?"

"No," said Zim. "The only thing Zim wants is for Gir to be a _good dog _and come with me immediately!"

Gir looked at Zim, and then at Ed. "I don't wanna!" he chirped. "I wanna stay with the Fuzzy Eyebrow guy!"

"What?!" asked Zim. "Just what makes this _huu-mun _more desirable than Zim?"

Gir walked over to Ed. "He rubs my tummy," he said in a whisper, wrapping his arms around Ed's legs.

"Aw, can't he stay, Zim?" Ed asked. "Please?"

Now it was Zim's turn to seethe. "Why, you ungrateful little…!"

"And his brain looks like a peanut!" Gir quickly added.

"Huh?" Zim asked, all anger suddenly forgotten.

"Yep," said Ed. "In one ear, and out the…uh…the, uh…"

"Other, Ed," Double D finished for him.

"Yeah, what Double D said," said Ed.

Zim tilted his head. "Fine," he grumbled. "I'll let you go this time, Gir, but don't think it will happen again!" He then turned around and began to march back over to Eddy and Double D.

Ed and Gir stared at the back of Zim's head for a few seconds. Ed broke the silence.

"Wanna see me be a woodpecker?" Ed asked Gir.

"OKAY!" Gir answered.

With that, the two new friends dove back into the snow.

Meanwhile, Zim had once again stopped in front of Eddy and Double D.

"The Ed-beast…" Zim said to the two boys. "What would you say is the size of his brain?"

"Smaller than average, if that helps," said Eddy.

"Yes," said Double D. "If there's anything that isn't admiring about Ed, it's that his mental abilities are lacking."

"So, he wouldn't be able to remember anything significant?" Zim asked. "Say…any encounters with strangers?"

"Huh?" Eddy asked. "Oh, I suppose he told about seeing that alien last night." He groaned. "Geez, why doesn't he just drop it? After that last crazy adventure, I never want to see another alien again!"

Zim was curious. "Please explain," he said.

Double D was surprised. "You don't know about it?" he asked. "It was all over to the news!" He then proceeded to tell Zim the whole story of what had happened a few weeks before.

Zim started laughing when Double D finished his story. "Aliens coming and stealing dairy products? That's absurd!"

"Hey, believe what you want," said Eddy. "It happened. But yeah, don't worry about Ed. Unless he talks about it for more than a day, we don't take it seriously."

"I see," said Zim. "Zim thanks you."

Just then, the bell rang, signifying the end of recess.

"Aww…" said Ed. He looked at Gir. "I gotta go now, puppy," he said. "I'll see you later."

"Bye, peanut head!" said Gir, waving back.

As he roamed through the group of students heading back into the school, Zim was lost in his own thoughts.

'_Hmm…_' he thought. '_It seems it won't be necessary for me to erase Ed-stink's memory after all. However, it seems I had some…competition for the conquest of this planet._' His face once again developed that disturbing grin. '_Well, let's just see how this town can handle an attack from the great ZIM_…'


	6. Saturday's a Day for Play

**Invad-Ed**

Chapter 5: Saturday's a Day for Play

Thankfully, nothing out of the ordinary happened for the rest of that day. The next thing the Eds knew, the final bell had rung, and they were free for the whole weekend. They spent the rest of the day continuing work on their Ice Hotel without any interruptions.

Well, almost without any interruptions. Eddy kept his complaining to a minimum (he only grumbled the occasional "stupid blackmail"), but Ed wouldn't stop whining. He wanted to find the green puppy again. Finally, Eddy and Double D got tired of Ed's protests, and they put him in charge of coming up with ideas for the statues that were to be placed inside the hotel. At least this kept him occupied.

What they didn't know was this: the whole time they were working, a pair of fake light purple eyes was watching their every move…

Finally, as the sun was setting, the three boys left their gigantic work of art; they would come back to it tomorrow. Finally, the spy walked out from his hiding spot in the bushes, followed by two others.

Zim marched straight up to the side of the Ice Hotel, with Gir and MiniMoose in tow. He cautiously brought up one gloved hand and touched the wall of the massive structure (thankfully, he had bathed in paste before leaving his base).

"Well, I must admit, this structure is impressive," said Zim. "What's that one Earth phrase? 'The bigger they are, the harder they fall'?"

MiniMoose squeaked.

"Of _course _I mean to destroy it!" Zim responded. "A base this impressive could get in the way of the mission!"

Zim stopped when he heard sniffling. He looked down. Gir, in his little puppy costume, had big, sad tears running down his face. Ed didn't know it, but Gir had wanted to play some more, too.

"Gir," Zim growled. "You'd better not be crying about the Ed-human…"

"But I _miss _the Peanut Head!" said Gir between sobs.

Zim groaned. "All right!" he finally snapped. "If that _pitiful _human means so much to you, you can seek him out tomorrow…as I destroy their base!" He then began to do his maniacal laugh that he did so well. But suddenly…

"Hello, Zim."

Zim gave an abrupt stop to his laughing. Double D was standing right in front of him.

"Uh…Double D-human!" Zim stuttered out. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"I forgot my tool box here," said Double D, gesturing to the metal box that was now in his mitten-clad hand. "But what's this I hear about vandalizing what's technically our property?"

Zim began to panic. "Uh…did I say 'destroy'?" he asked. He laughed nervously. "Oh, do not worry, silly human! I meant…uh…I simply want to assist you in its construction." Zim inwardly winced.

Double D raised an eyebrow. "Okay…" he said slowly. "But you'd better watch yourself. If Eddy found out you were trying to wreck his scam, he'd never let you hear the end of it."

"Uh…of course!" said Zim. "So…I shall meet you tomorrow?"

"Well…that depends on how long I'll take in Eddy's tutoring lesson," said Double D. "We can come and get you when we're ready to work, though."

"Uh…that won't be necessary!" said Zim. "I'd rather come to you."

Double D stared for a moment, then sighed. "Whatever works for you, I suppose," he said. He then began walking home. "See you tomorrow, Zim."

As soon as Double D was gone, Zim's normal smile became sneakier. "Yes," he hissed. "_Tomorrow_…"

---

The next morning, deep in the woods, a lone figure snuck out of Zim's base. However, it wasn't Zim.

Gir plowed his little body through the snow toward the Peach Creek cul-de-sac. He was on a mission; a mission he didn't want his Master to know about.

When Gir got to the streets, he looked at each house, scanning for vital signs. He was looking for someone: the Peanut Head with the furry eyebrow. He had had so much fun with Peanut Head, but his mean old Master wouldn't let Gir look for him the day before. Now was his chance; Master was preparing for a rendezvous he had set up with Peanut Head and his two friends.

Finally, at the last house, Gir picked up life signs that were similar to Peanut Head's. He squealed in delight and ran up to that house. He hopped up to the door and rang the doorbell.

A little girl with red hair, who was wearing a purple winter coat and hat, answered the door. She had this ticked-off look on her face, sort of like the face Master always had.

Sarah stared at the little green puppy on the doorstep. She recognized the dog; he had seen her stupid brother playing with it the day before.

"ED!" she shouted into the house. "That stupid green kid's puppy is at the door!" Sarah had not forgotten the incident involving Zim from the day before.

Ed ran to the doorway. As soon as he saw Gir, a big grin appeared on his face.

"Puppy!" said Ed.

"Peanut Head!" said Gir, jumping into Ed's arms.

Sarah wanted to gag at the mushy scene. "You just make sure that creepy kid doesn't get in my way," she told Ed. "I hurt my hand punching him out yesterday."

"Sure thing, baby sister," said Ed.

With that, Sarah left the house, eager to play with Jimmy.

Ed looked at Gir. "Wanna make a statue, puppy?" he asked.

"Okie dokie!" said Gir.

So Ed put on his winter gear, and soon, he and Gir were also outside.

---

A few hours later, Zim was marching on the sidewalk that framed the cul-de-sac, MiniMoose in tow. He was not happy. Gir was nowhere to be found. He figured his little SIR unit had run off to look for the Ed-beast; so the only thing he needed to do was find Ed, Double D, or Eddy. However, there was one small problem: he had no idea where any of them lived.

Finally, he decided to pick a house and hope for the best. He and MiniMoose went up to the first house he saw and rang the doorbell.

Unfortunately, none of the Eds answered the door. Instead, it was the Kevin-human.

"Oh, great," said Kevin. "The green freak."

"Do not talk to Zim in that matter!" Zim automatically replied. However, he quickly regained his composure. "Uh…I mean…the Ed humans! Are they here with you?"

"Who, the dorks?" asked Kevin. "As if. But if you really wanna know, Double Dweeb's house is over there." He pointed to a house across the street.

"Zim thanks you, human," said Zim. He and MiniMoose began their trek across the street to Double D's house.

Kevin stared at Zim for a moment before finally going back inside. "Freak," he muttered.

Zim was now at another house, certain it was Double D's. Once again, he rang the doorbell. No answer. So, he began to knock on the door. As Zim knocked, he looked around at the other houses, wondering which one Gir was in, and why…

"OW!"

Zim whipped his head back to the door. He was so busy looking around; he hadn't felt the door being opened. Apparently, he had punched Eddy square in the nose, because that's what useless appendage Eddy was holding.

"What's with you?!" Eddy asked angrily.

"Eddy, calm down," said Double D. "Can we help you, Zim?"

"Where's Gir?" asked Zim.

"Gir?" asked Double D. "Your dog?"

"Yes," said Zim. "Where is he?"

"What's that?" asked Eddy, pointing at MiniMoose.

"This is MiniMoose," said Zim. "He is…a comrade of mine."

"I see," said Double D. "Well, Gir isn't here. Maybe he's with Ed. They seem to enjoy each other's company."

"And he is not with you?" asked Zim.

"We were just going to pick him up," said Double D. "Ed would surely know where he is."

"Then…lead the way, humans," said Zim.

So Zim and MiniMoose followed Ed and Double D to Ed's house. As soon as they got there, they heard giggling from the backyard. When the group got to the back, they were quite surprised with what they saw.

Ed was posing in the middle of the backyard, while Gir was constructing a replica of Ed with snow.

"Aww!" said Gir. "You look so cute!"

"Hurry up, puppy!" said Ed. "My nose itches!"

"_Ed_?" asked Ed and Double D.

"GIR!" said Zim.

Both Ed and Gir snapped to attention.

"Hiya, guys!" said Ed.

"Hi, Master!" exclaimed Gir.

Eddy looked at the statue. "Hmm…that's not half bad, actually."

"Puppy was helping me with the statues for the Ice Hotel," said Ed. "He's good, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is," said Double D. "I'm sure he could help us with our construction of the Ice Hotel…"

"Unacceptable!" said Zim.

The Eds looked at Zim.

"Aww…why not?" asked Ed.

"Gir isn't fit to construct a simple weapon of destruction, let alone a simple fortress made of snow!" Zim answered.

"Weapon of destruction?" Double D repeated.

"Well, your reasoning would probably matter if you were in charge," said Eddy. "Which you're NOT! I say if we have so much willing help, we milk it for all it's worth! I want this Ice Hotel opened before the snow melts, and I won't accept anything less! Let's go!"

With that, Eddy began to walk toward the woods, followed by Double D and a quietly seething Zim with MiniMoose. Suddenly…

"KITTY!"

Eddy and Double D turned around, only to find that a grey cat with pointed ears and bright red eyes perched on Ed's shoulders. Gir squealed.

"Where'd that thing come from?" asked Eddy.

Ed shrugged. "I dunno," said Ed. "Can I keep it, guys? Can I, can I, can I?!"

Then, Zim turned around. His eyes widened (or, they would have widened if they weren't already huge). "MIMI?!" he asked, shocked.

The cat started. It looked at Zim, eyes narrowing. Then, as smooth as liquid, it jumped off of Ed's shoulders and slinked away, deep into the area behind Ed's backyard.

"Mimi?" Eddy repeated.

"You know that cat?" Double D asked Zim.

Zim looked at the three Eds. "Uh…no," he finally answered. "Sorry. Zim must have been mistaken."

Eddy stared for a minute. "Whatever," he said, shrugging. "Now, then…TO THE ICE HOTEL!"

Eddy led the way, followed by Double D, Ed, Gir, MiniMoose, and Zim.

However, Zim wasn't paying attention. Contrary to what he said, he had suddenly become nervous, for some reason he couldn't fully understand. But one thing was for certain: he had, indeed, recognized that particular cat.

'_It couldn't be_,' Zim thought as he followed the others. '_It _couldn't_be. _She _wouldn't be situated around this area…would she?_'


	7. Confrontation in the Woods

**Invad-Ed**

Chapter 6: The Incident in the Woods

Throughout the rest of that Saturday, Zim, Gir, and MiniMoose assisted the three Eds with their Ice Hotel. And, somehow, all three appealed to at least one Ed. Of course, Gir and Ed were already good pals, so they didn't have any problems; Double D found MiniMoose to be quite the companion, mainly because MiniMoose didn't talk much; meanwhile, Eddy had discovered something amazing: Zim complained more than he did! They were working side by side, both silently cursing Double D for putting them to work.

However, at the same time, Eddy was noticing something…odd about Zim. Every so often, Zim would look around and scan the surrounding area; as if he was afraid someone was watching them work.

"Dude, you okay?" Eddy finally asked.

"What?" asked Zim. "Oh…it's nothing. Nothing to worry your brain meats over, human!" He then grinned a big grin.

Eddy raised an eyebrow, but didn't address the situation again. Basically, he didn't want to hear anymore of Zim's weird talk.

Meanwhile, Zim had gone back to scanning the area. Seeing that cat-Mimi-had him spooked. Soon, he was talking to himself in his head.

'_Ugh, just look at me,_' Zim thought. '_Acting all weird and paranoid like some horrible…weird…paranoid…worm-baby. I'm turning into…_him'

Out of the corner of his eye, Eddy noticed Zim involuntarily shuddering. Once again, he didn't question it.

'_Easy, Zim,_' Zim continued in his head. '_You're tougher than this. You're an Invader! The Tallest are counting on you! So what if you saw a cat? That doesn't necessarily mean that…_she's _here. And so what if she is? I mean, besides the fact that she wants to rip out my squeedly-spooch with her bare claws…besides, conquering Earth is_my _mission. Not hers! Only _I _can rid this world of these awful, annoying…_'

"HEY, WATCH IT!"

"Huh?" Zim was snapped out of his thoughts by Eddy's voice. He looked down to find that he had been harshly kicking the outside wall of the Ice Hotel with his boot.

"Geez!" said Eddy. "You trying to bring the whole place down?!"

"Uh…forgive me human!" said Zim. "Zim was just…thinking! Yes! Thinking about…Earth things!"

This earned a glare from Eddy. "Well, don't let it happen again," said Eddy.

"Uh…of course!" said Zim. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something streak through the trees behind him. His paranoia got the better of him. "Uh…Zim must take his leave now. Nice working with you!" he said, though it was hard to tell because his words were blurring together from talking so fast.

"But we've only been at it a few hours!" Eddy protested.

But Zim wasn't listening. He was too busy grabbing MiniMoose, who was with Double D, and then entering the Ice Hotel and grabbing Gir, who was helping Ed decorate.

Ed watched as Zim grabbed his little puppy friend and ran out of the Ice Hotel. "Aww…" he mumbled.

Meanwhile, a confused Double D was listening to an annoyed Eddy rant.

"How dare he?" Eddy was asking. "How _dare _he?! He promises to help us and then all of a sudden flips out?! It's outrageous!"

"Now, Eddy, calm down…" said Double D. "I'm sure Zim has a good reason for this sudden leave."

Just then, the subject of their discussion zipped past them, clutching Gir and MiniMoose in his arms. Before Eddy or Double D could react, Zim disappeared into the woods.

"HEY!" Eddy yelled. "You don't get off the hook that easy! ZIM!" With that, Eddy began to run after Zim.

"Eddy, wait!" said Double D.

"Come back, Puppy!" Ed suddenly yelled, running out of the Ice Hotel and after Eddy. "You still need to finish that last statue!"

Double D watched as his two friends ran into the forest after Zim. Then he sighed.

"I'm surrounded by idiots…" he mumbled as he followed everyone else.

---

When Double D found his two friends, they were in the middle of a small clearing, just…standing there, staring. They had every right to. Right in the middle of the clearing was a large, glowing, green house. Even weirder was the lawn gnomes leading up to the door, which looked like it belonged with a boy's bathroom.

"Is this _Zim's_house?" asked Double D.

"Cool…" said Ed.

"That chicken…" Eddy grumbled. "Hiding in his house…" He began to walk up to the door. "HEY, ZIM!" he yelled. But just as Eddy was about to knock on the door…

A laser shot out of one of the gnome's eyes.

"WHOA!" yelled Double D.

"EVIL LASER GNOMES!" yelled Ed.

Eddy ran back to Double D and Ed, but by now, all of the gnomes were going berserk, shooting lasers every which way.

"WHAT THE HECK?!" said Eddy.

"Must be a security system malfunction…" said Double D.

"Malfunction my foot!" said Eddy. "Hey, Zim!" he called to the house. "Don't think you're off the hook, because you're _not_!"

"Ed…" said Double D.

"Gotcha, Double D," said Ed. He walked up to Eddy, picked him up, and carried his kicking and screaming friend back to the Ice Hotel.

Once Eddy and Ed were out of sight, Double D turned back to the strange house with the ballistic laser-firing gnomes. "Zim?" he called. "Uh…I don't know if you can hear me, but please excuse Eddy's behavior. I'm sure you had a very good reason for leaving so abruptly. Uh…see you on Monday!"

With that, Double D went off to find Ed and Eddy.

---

Unbeknownst to the Eds, Zim (minus his contacts and wig) was watching the whole scene on one of the giant monitors, deep within the bowels of his underground lab. Gir and MiniMoose were playing behind him.

"Great…" Zim mumbled. "Now I have _another _human after me…but for a different reason! Stupid paranoia…stupid humans…"

"Aww…I miss Peanut Head…" said Gir.

"Yes…" said Zim. "Well, _Peanut Head _will have to wait, Gir. I have to run a full scan on this neighborhood. I suppose I can't be too careful…"

---

The next day, the Eds continued work on their Ice Hotel…by themselves. For all they knew, Zim still hadn't left his house. So, Ed and Double D also concentrated on calming Eddy down so he wouldn't strangle the green boy come Monday.

In truth, Zim _hadn't_left his house. The scan of vital signs on Peach Creek took all day, but for him, it was worth it. When the scan was finally completed at the end of the day, Zim didn't see any abnormalities. The entire town seemed composed of humans, and the only alien life forms present were him, Gir, and MiniMoose. Nobody else.

---

The next day was Monday, which meant back to school for another week. Thankfully, Zim no longer felt paranoid, and Eddy no longer wanted to strangle Zim for running out on him and the other Eds. Soon, it was first period again.

Eddy was surprised when, instead of going right to his desk, Zim walked up to his desk.

"Eddy-human…" Zim began. "I…I know you are angry with me for what happened the other day…and…I suppose I should say I'm…s-sor…ry."

Eddy was genuinely surprised. He couldn't remember the last time someone apologized him for something. Probably because he was usually the one causing grief to someone else, not the other way around.

"Uh…okay," he said.

With that, Zim marched back to his desk up front, next to Double D.

'_Well, that's one problem out of my antenna,_' Zim thought as he sat down. '_Now that there aren't anymore distractions for me to worry about, I can once again focus on my plans to conquer this filthy planet…_'

"Class?" asked the teacher. "Before we begin, we have another new student."

Ed, Double D, and Eddy snapped to attention. So did the rest of the class, including Zim.

'_New student?_' Zim thought. All the paranoia he had gotten rid of over the weekend was now back in his body. '_No…it couldn't be…_'

However, all his hopes were dashed when a bluish purple-haired girl wearing a purple outfit and knee-high buckle boots entered the classroom.

"This is Tak," said the teacher.

'_NO…_'


	8. Things are Coming Together

**Author's Note**: Sigh…I want to get started on _Spring Break with an Ed_, but I ultimately decided that if I want to get started on that story, I might as well finish this one so I don't have to worry about it anymore. However, now that I don't have to worry about finishing _Baron and the Pumpkin King _anymore, it should be easier for me. Happy reading! ;)-**AMX**

**Invad-Ed**

Chapter 7: Things are Coming Together…

Later that day, the Eds were back in the cafeteria, continuing to look over the plans for their Ice Hotel.

"This is it, boys," said Eddy, that all-too-familiar glint in his eyes. "It's almost done. Just a few more days of work, and our Ice Hotel will be open for business! Then we'll finally be makin' the big money!"

"Can I lick the bowl, Eddy?" asked Ed.

Eddy ignored Ed and turned to Double D. However, Eddy's expression turned from excited to annoyed when he realized that his sock hat friend's attention was elsewhere.

"Hey! Mr. Landscaper!" Eddy called to Double D. "Does the phrase "swimming in jawbreakers" mean _anything _to you?"

But Double D still wasn't paying attention. Eddy and Ed finally turned in the direction of where Double D was looking. They soon realized that Double D had every right to stare.

Tak, the new girl, had just poured her entire lunch (spaghetti with sauce), along with her milk, onto Zim. This caused poor Zim to run out of the cafeteria, screaming. Also, if one looked hard enough, they could see that Zim's green skin seemed to be…smoking?

"Is it just me, or is the new girl doing everything in her power to make Zim miserable?" asked Double D.

"Dude, who _cares_?" asked Eddy. "As long as it doesn't cause any interference with our Ice Hotel, I'm not complaining."

"But Eddy," said Double D, "he apologized to you. Don't you think you at least owe him a little respect?"

"Hey, respect can wait until we have enough customers in our rooms," said Eddy.

Suddenly, Ed began giggling uncontrollably.

"Ed, are you sitting on a feather?" asked Double D.

"I got a tickly on my back, guys," Ed said between giggles.

Eddy, who was sitting next to Ed, looked at Ed's back. It appeared that Ed was right; a large bump was protruding out of the back of Ed's jacket.

"What the…?" Eddy poked at the lump.

It shuddered. Then, a green face with large, lavender eyes poked out from the inside of Ed's jacket.

"WHOA!" said Eddy and Double D.

"Hi, Zim!" said Ed.

"SHH!" Zim hissed. "If Tak asks, you didn't see Zim!" He began to burrow himself back into Ed's jacket. "And Ed-human?" he asked.

"Yes?" asked Ed.

"Zim is pleading with you to wash this article of clothing you call a 'jacket'," said Zim, his voice slightly muffled. "I do not even bear a human nose and I can barely stand the smell…"

Double D gave Ed a disapproving look. "Ed, what did I tell you about regular bathing?"

Ed pouted. "I don't tell you how to iron your hats, Double D!" he shot back.

Double D was surprised by the fact that Ed's comment actually made sense. "_Well_…" he said.

"Come on, come on!" Eddy interrupted. "We got a deadline to meet, remember?"

But once again, Ed and Double D's attention was suddenly on a new subject. Eddy turned to what his friends were looking at. He suddenly realized that they had good reason to stare.

Standing right in front of their table was Tak.

"Hello, human Earth…boys," she said in a slight British accent. "I seem to be having trouble locating my old…friend, Zim. You wouldn't happen to know his whereabouts, would you?"

The Eds looked at each other.

"Nope," said Eddy, not interested.

"Uh…not recently," said Double D.

"Who?" asked Ed.

Tak, obviously not satisfied with the boys' answers, sighed. She seemed to be trying not to lose her temper.

"Well, in that case…" she said, "If you _do _see him, tell him I would like to talk to him…in _private_." She then turned to walk away. However…

"Uh…Tak?" Double D asked, appearing cautious.

Tak stopped. "Yes?" she asked, not facing the Eds.

"I couldn't help but notice that you called Zim your 'old friend.'" Double D paused, apparently trying to find the right words without starting a conflict. "But from what I've seen, you seem to be doing everything in your power to make him miserable. Did he do something to offend you in some way? Because if he did, we'll have no problem with talking to him for you…"

"Hey!" Eddy objected. "_I've _got a problem with that, thank you!"

Suddenly, Tak whirled around to face the Eds again. She had an icy glare in her eyes.

"This does not concern you," she spoke in a quiet, uneasy tone. "None of you. And if you value your existence, I suggest you not associate yourselves with Zim anymore."

"Sheesh, that's what _I've _been saying this whole time!" said Eddy. "What, they've gotta hear it from someone else to put it into practice?"

Tak just continued glaring. "Stop hanging around Zim," she repeated. "The less you three know…the better."

Then, she walked out of the cafeteria.

"Finally!" said Eddy. "Now…"

"Hey, Zim!" Ed said, meaning to turn his attention to the lump in the back of his jacket. "Tak wants to…" But he stopped when he realized that the lump was no longer there.

Zim was gone.

"Oh…" said Ed. "Never mind."

"Well, now that _that's _out of the way…" Eddy began, but he stopped when he saw Double D staring at the door that Tak had left out of. "What?"

"Oh, come on, Eddy!" said Double D, turning back to his friends. "You can't truthfully say that _that _was normal!"

"I don't know what normal is anymore," said Ed.

"What do you expect, Double D?" asked Eddy. "She's a _girl_."

Double D gave his friend a disbelieving look. "Eddy, I hardly think the fact that Tak's a girl has anything to do with that behavior. I honestly think Tak has some sort of personal vendetta against Zim!"

"Really?" asked Ed. "Because I was thinking she wanted revenge."

Double D did a face palm. "That's what 'vendetta' _means_, Ed," he said, obviously exasperated.

"What?" asked Ed.

Eddy sighed. "Well, I can see how _this _conversation is going nowhere," he said.

Double D sighed. "Very well," he said. "I suppose it's none of my business."

"There we go!" said Eddy. "Now, here's my plan to add the finishing touches…"

--

Before the Eds knew it, school was over for the day (nothing eventful had happened since lunch), and of course, their destination was right to the Ice Hotel. Thankfully, they had nothing to worry about (of course, homework never seemed to be an issue, because Double D always had his done before school ended, and Eddy and Ed just wouldn't do theirs).

Since the Ice Hotel was almost finished, Eddy was definitely excited, and was even working at the same pace as Ed and Double D. In fact, one would probably say he was the most focused of the three friends, which was obviously a first. This was mainly because once in a while, Ed would voice that he wanted to look for the green puppy again, while Double D seemed to be unable to get Tak's confrontation out of his mind.

Despite these setbacks, all three Eds were genuinely surprised to find that they had actually finished the Ice Hotel/Battle Fort by the time the sun had begun to set over Peach Creek.

"Well, gentlemen," said Double D, "I didn't think it could be done, but I think this might have a chance!"

"Oh, man!" said Eddy. "I can see it now, boys. We're gonna be huge, either with people paying to stay in our hotel, or feeling our wrath from inside our fortress. Either way, our success is gonna light up the sky!"

Just then, a sound that distinctly sounded like lightning crackling filled the area, and a brilliant flash of light filled the sky.

"Yeah, like that," said Eddy.

"What was that?!" said Double D

"The aliens are back!" said Ed. "Make sure your brain is still in your head!"

"Yeah, remember when I warned you about that, Ed?" asked Eddy. Ed nodded. "Well, that was just spur-of-the-moment. You don't have anything to worry about."

"Even so, I suggest we investigate that light," said Double D. "This might have something to do with Tak and Zim."

"You're still on that?" asked Eddy. "You heard them; it's none of our business."

"Well then, I'm making it my business," said Double D. He then began to walk deeper into the woods, where he knew Zim's eccentric house resided.

"Double D!" said Eddy. "Come on!" He then reluctantly began to run after his friend.

Ed just stood there for a moment, then…"Hey! Maybe the puppy will want to play!" He then followed Eddy and Double D.

However, as the Eds went deeper into the forest, they saw a sight they least expected to see (from the safety of behind some bushes, of course).

Zim had been forced down into the snow by (you guessed it) Tak; Gir (with his dog suit on) and MiniMoose were standing next to Zim. However, Zim looked different; one of his normally lavender eyes was now a brilliant red, and his hair was missing, two black antenna in their place! Tak, on the other hand, looked like her human self, but she was holding a high-tech looking laser, which was still sparking.

"I can't _believe _this!" Zim growled, standing back up. "I came to this town so I could continue my mission in peace; so I didn't have to deal with meddlers like you and…_him_! So why on Irk are you here?!"

"Because you've ruined my life not _once_, but twice!" said Tak. "It doesn't matter _where _you go, Zim; until I exact my revenge on you, you can't escape me! And need I remind you that the mission to conquer Earth should rightfully be _mine_?"

Double D's eyes widened. "Conquer Earth?" he whispered.

"I bet it's some kind of girl code," said Eddy, although his voice seemed to be wavering a little.

"I can't see!" Ed protested.

Meanwhile, Zim and Tak's conversation continued.

"You're just jealous that the Tallest gave the mission to me!" said Zim.

"Are you _that _oblivious?!" said Tak. "I already told you, Zim! The only reason the Tallest gave you this mission was because they wanted to get rid of you! They didn't even know Earth existed until _you _found it!"

"Look…" Zim's voice grew low again. "I'm not in the mood for any of your lies, and I don't have a lot of time. I just want to complete my mission so I can be repented. And right now, you're not helping."

"Aw…Master's mad," said Gir. MiniMoose squeaked in agreement.

"THEY'RE NOT…" Tak started, but then she stopped. "Forget it," she hissed. "If I can't get you to listen to me, I'll just get rid of you and complete _my _plan for Earth." Then, without warning, she launched herself at Zim and his group, readying her weapon.

Surprisingly, Ed was the first one to spring into action. Seeing that harm could come to Gir, he jumped out of the bushes, a snowball in hand. "I'LL SAVE YOU, PUPPY!" he said. He then threw the snowball at Tak.

Tak whipped her head around, just as Eddy and Double D followed Ed out of the bushes. However, something else happened: Tak's human appearance seemed to…flicker.

"Nice shot, Lumpy!" said Eddy.

Double D remained speechless.

"Hi, Peanut Head!" said Gir.

Zim finally noticed the three boys, and jumped back onto his feet. As he did, his other eye also changed from lavender to bright red (in short, his contact lens fell out).

"What are _you _doing here?!" he yelled at the Eds. "You're not supposed to see this! This could jeopardize my whole mission!"

As this happened, Tak's human form kept flickering, until it stopped to reveal a lot more: a purple uniform, sharp purple eyes, green skin, and long, curly antenna!

"Hey, aren't you Master's girlfriend?" Gir asked Tak.

Meanwhile, the three Eds were in shock. Double D was the first to react.

"Oh no…" he said. Then… "NOT AGAIN!"

He then ran back through the bushes, heading back to the closest sanctuary: the Ice Hotel.

"Hey, I should be first!" said Eddy, following Double D.

"DON'T TAKE OUR CHEESE!" Ed yelled, following Ed and Double D.

The Eds were so focused on getting away, they didn't notice that they had left Zim, Gir, and MiniMoose alone with Tak…

--

Soon, the Eds found themselves in the shelter of the Ice Hotel. They were at the top, where they could see anyone trying to get in, and where they could easily attack from any angle.

"Okay," said Eddy, "It looks like those alien freaks are trying to take over the Earth. Since we found them out, they're most likely gonna try and make sure we don't talk. But are we gonna give up without a fight?"

"Absolutely not!" said Double D.

But Ed was suddenly dispirited. "Does this mean I have to fight the puppy?" he asked.

"Well, yeah, if the puppy's on Zim's side," said Eddy.

"Aw…" said Ed.

Suddenly, the Eds could just make out someone knocking on the Ice Hotel's main door.

The three boys peeked over the side. Then they all frowned. Standing there were MiniMoose, Gir, and a thoroughly beat-up Zim.

"State your business, alien invader!" Eddy called down.

Zim looked up. "Ed-humans!" he called back. "It pains me to do this, but I'm afraid I need to ask your help with something!"

"If you want us to surrender, you've got another thing coming!" Double D called down.

"Hi, puppy!" said Ed.

Gir waved back.

"It's not like that!" said Zim. "Tak's trying to take my mission from me…again! I need help with stopping her!"

"Yeah, right!" said Eddy. "Why should we help you?'

"I just suspected that you wouldn't want those mechanisms you obsess about to fall into the wrong hands!" Zim called back.

"What are you talking about?" asked Double D.

"After you guys left, Tak gave me a thrashing, and while she was walking away, she mentioned something about a factory!" Zim explained. "And the only factory I know of around here is the factory that makes mechanisms that break jaws! But I'll need to double-check it with my computer first!"

"You mean…the jawbreaker factory?" asked Double D.

"Uh oh!" said Ed.

"What do you think we should do, Eddy?" asked Double D. But when he looked over, his friend wasn't there. "Eddy?"

Just then, Ed and Double D spotted Eddy again…at the Ice Hotel's entrance addressing Zim.

"So, uh…which way is your house again?"


	9. Attack of the Exploding Jawbreakers

**Invad-Ed**

Chapter 8: Attack of the Exploding Jawbreakers

"Well, this certainly wasn't how I was planning to spend the rest of the night…" said Double D, with a very exasperated look on his face.

And he had every right to be. At the moment, he was on an elevator with an ecstatic Ed, a serious Eddy (or, at least as serious as someone can get about jawbreakers), Zim (minus his schoolboy disguise), Gir (even though he was no longer wearing his dog disguise, Ed still called him "puppy"), and MiniMoose. The elevator was hidden in Zim's house, and seemed to be heading underground.

"Just be thankful I let you three in _this _far, humans," said Zim. "The only reason you three are even here is because you're experts on the building Tak is planning to infiltrate."

"We _do _have names, you know," said Double D.

"I know," said Zim. "But calling you worm-babies "humans" makes me sound more intimidating. It'll help when I finally take over this useless rock."

"Please," said Eddy. "A Space Robot mask wouldn't make _you _intimidating."

"And besides," said Double D, "if Earth is so useless, why are you trying to conquer it?"

"Zim doesn't need to answer that," said the irritated alien.

By this time, the group had arrived at the floor Zim wanted. It housed a massive and impressive-looking computer.

Ed, still very excited, was the first one out of the elevator. "This reminds me of the evil lair of the Frost Beings from the dark side of Pluto!" He paused. "Hey Zim, can I pilot a spaceship?"

Zim just looked at the tallest Ed. "No," was his reply.

Ed immediately went mopey. "Aww…" he muttered. "Why not?"

"Because," said Zim, walking up to the computer. "You remind me too much of Gir for my liking."

"It only took you until just now to figure that out?" asked Eddy.

"Okay, first thing's first," said Double D. "Zim, how do you even know Tak's trying to take over the jawbreaker factory?"

"Back when we first saw that cat, Mimi, Gir was able to capture her and bring her here," Zim explained. "Mimi is Tak's SIR unit, like Gir is mine…only smarter. Anyway, Mimi escaped, but not before I did a complete scan of her memory banks. This is what I was able to find."

A fuzzy picture suddenly appeared on the main screen of the computer. Double D also noted that the other monitors seemed to be showing every known area of Peach Creek. As the main picture began to become clearer, Eddy and Double D's eyes widened in recognition (Ed was too busy playing with Gir and MiniMoose to notice).

"Yep," said Eddy. "That's the jawbreaker factory, all right."

"But what does Tak want with it?" asked Double D.

As if on cue, Tak's voice was heard on the monitor.

"There it is, Mimi," said Tak's voice. "The central base of operations. Zim may have stopped my plan to empty the Earth's molten core and fill it with snacks before, but that was only because he had those meddlesome and annoying humans there to help him."

Double D's face scrunched in concentration. "Well, it's nice to know your kind thinks so highly of us," he said.

Eddy looked at Double D. "Are you being sarcastic again?" he asked.

"There's no way Zim will be able to stop me this time," Tak's voice continued. "I'll get rid of him along with all the other filthy inhabitants of this planet. That will _surely _put me in the Tallests' good graces."

"The Tallest?" asked Eddy. "Who are they?"

"The leaders of my planet," said Zim.

"What, so they're the leaders just 'cause they're taller than everyone else?" asked Eddy. He paused. "That's stupid!"

"I do admit, that does seem a little…lazy," said Double D. "Is intelligence even considered a factor on your planet?"

Zim scoffed. "Why should something as insignificant as intelligence be a factor?" he asked. "Everyone knows height means everything!"

"Uh huh," said Eddy. "Well, Ed's the tallest in our group. You tellin' us _he _should be the leader?"

They looked at Ed. He was lying on the floor, as stiff as a board. Gir was sitting on Ed's stomach, while MiniMoose was flying around them in a circle.

"I'm a fish stick!" Ed exclaimed.

"I'm waiting to eat him!" said Gir.

MiniMoose squeaked.

Zim looked at Ed, then back at Double D and Eddy, who were still waiting for an answer.

"Well…" said Zim, "I suppose there could always be…exceptions…"

"Yeah, you think?" asked Double D.

However, it was what Tak's voice said next that made all three Eds snap to attention.

"Not only that, but through my research, I've discovered that the product created in that facility can become a lethal weapon when exposed to very high temperatures. Not only will I destroy all this world's inhabitants, I can use these…candy balls to destroy the very establishment that created them! I mean, it's not like they're useful for anything else, right?"

Then the picture went fuzzy again.

All three Eds went wide-eyed at Tak's comment.

"No more jawbreaker factory?" asked Eddy.

"No more cavity-inducing sweet treats within a three-mile radius of the town?" asked Double D.

"No more multicolored tongues or sugary goodness?" asked Ed.

"No more reason to make new scams?!" asked Eddy.

"NOOOOOOO!" all three boys yelled.

"Master!" Gir exclaimed. "They sound just like you!"

"Oh, please…" said Zim. "As if _I _would do anything _that _pathetic…" He looked up at the ceiling. "Computer!"

"_**Whaaaat?**_" a bored voice reverberated off the walls, catching all three Eds' attention.

"Cool!" said Ed.

"Sounds like our math teacher," Eddy remarked to Double D.

"Obtain and maintain a visual on this…jawbreaker…candy…factory," said Zim.

A new picture of the jawbreaker factory appeared on the main monitor. It was now nighttime outside, and the factory appeared dormant.

"What, that's it?" asked Eddy. "What a rip…"

Suddenly, a brilliant flash of light went off from the inside the jawbreaker factory. At the same time, a slight tremor shook the very foundation of Zim's house.

"…off," Eddy finished.

"Oh, no," said Double D. "Do you know what this means?"

"The jawbreaker factory has the hiccups?" asked Ed.

Double D sighed. "No," he said. "This means that it's already starting!"

"It figures," Zim grumbled. "I'll show _her _who's incapable of completing a mission!"

With that, Zim began running back to the elevator.

"Oh, no!" said Eddy. "You're not leaving without us! Our whole future of scams is at stake here!"

Eddy began running after Zim, followed by Double D. Ed, however, stayed put. "Coming, Ed?" asked Double D.

"I wish I could," said Ed, "but fish sticks can't move."

Double D rolled his eyes.

"Forget him!" said Eddy. "We need to _go_!"

"Gir!" said Zim. "If you're going to stay here, you have to answer in case anyone calls. Other than that, _don't touch anything_. Do you understand?"

Gir paused. Then…"Yes!" he chirped.

Zim sighed. Then, he, Double D, and Eddy began to head to another room in the elevator.

"You're seriously leaving that thing in charge?" asked Eddy.

"Believe me, if I had another choice, I would," said Zim. "Sometimes I find myself thinking that Gir's not as 'advanced' as the Tallest say…"

"Oh…really?" asked Double D.

Meanwhile, Gir and MiniMoose were still staring at Ed, who was still lying on the floor of the computer room.

"Hey peanut head?" asked Gir. "You done cookin' yet?"

Ed suddenly sat up. "Um…" he said. "I don't know. How do you cook a fish stick?"

"I dunno…" said Gir. "Are fish sticks like tacos?"

Ed pondered for a minute. "I forget," he said. "Oh! I know!" He turned to the monitors. "Can I watch TV on this thing?"

A deep-voiced sigh once again echoed through the room. "_**Unfortunately, Zim ordered me to keep all the monitors locked on your town,**_" said Zim's computer.

"Aww…" said Ed. Then, his face lit up again. "Ooh! Wait!" He reached into the pocket of his jacket, and pulled out a comic book. "Do you guys like comic books?"

Gir tilted his head. "Whazzat?" he asked.

Ed gasped. "You don't know what comics are?' he asked. "Well, it's a good thing I'm here then!" He sat down and opened the comic book. "Welcome to story time with Captain Ed, defender of the pure candy substance known as jawbreakers! And today's presentation is…" He looked at the front of the comic book. "_The Curse of the Forgotten Frost Beings from the Dark Side of Pluto_!"

"YAY!" said Gir.

MiniMoose squeaked.

--

Meanwhile, Zim was flying with Double D and Eddy in his Voot Cruiser. They were trying to get to the jawbreaker factory as fast as they could.

"So, once we get to the jawbreaker factory, what do you propose we do to stop Tak?" asked Double D.

"Well, if this plan is anything like her last one, she's going to have a giant drill to empty out the center of the Earth," said Zim. "Somebody needs to shut that off."

"I nominate Double D," said Eddy.

"What?" asked Double D.

"What?" Eddy asked back. "You expect me to shut off a drill when I can't even work a calculator?"

"Hmm…good point," said Double D.

"Meanwhile, someone has to make sure Tak is distracted," said Zim.

"I nominate Zim," said Eddy.

Zim glared at Eddy. "I'm sorry, when did _you_ become the boss of this expedition?"

"And while we're busy with the drill and Tak, what are _you _planning on doing, Eddy?" asked Double D.

"Isn't it obvious?" asked Eddy. "I'm going to be making sure none of the jawbreakers get hurt, of course!"

Double D and Zim just looked at Eddy. "I'll take Eddy with me, Zim," said Double D.

Eddy snorted. "Fine," he grumbled. "Just trying to make things easier for everyone…"

"Look!" said Double D. "There it is!"

Sure enough, the jawbreaker factory was straight ahead.

"Really?" asked Zim. "Huh…"

Double D noticed Zim's lack of enthusiasm. "Is something wrong, Zim?"

"Well…" said Zim. "It's just…I suppose I'm used to humans trying to thwart my plans instead of helping me with them." He gave a despondent chuckle. "And it would seem that spending so much time on Earth is getting to Zim…I might actually _miss _the thwarting of my plans…"

"Ah, yes," said Double D. "It seems we all need to do a little soul-searching at least once in our lives…"

"Not me!" said Eddy. "I already know what I want to do with my life!"

Double D shot a look at his friend. "Anyway…the point is, you should do what makes you happy, Zim."

Zim just shook his head. "First I'm thinking that I'm _missing _humans, now I'm actually thinking of taking _advice _from them," he mumbled. "I do, however, know that I shall find a solution to my problem, because I am ZIM!"

As Zim was talking, he landed the Voot Cruiser a good distance away from the jawbreaker factory.

"Okay, this is it," said Double D. "I hope everyone knows what they need to do."

"Oh, yeah!" said Eddy. "For the jawbreakers!"

Eddy stopped, only to find Double D and Zim giving him exasperated looks.

"And…for missions, and the Earth, and all that…" he feebly added.


	10. My Tallest, We've Contacted a Moron

**Invad-Ed**

Chapter 9: My Tallest, We've Contacted a Moron

The next thing Eddy and Double D knew, they were sneaking around the dark corridors of the jawbreaker factory. However, one thing they had immediately noticed was that unlike their previous visits to the factory (contrary to popular belief, they _had _been inside the factory before), the place was _sweltering _hot. Because of this, the boys had to shed their winter clothing near the entrance of the building.

"What are we supposed to be looking for again?" Eddy whispered again.

"According to Zim, a giant drill-like object capable of drilling into the Earth's core," Double D whispered back. "Since Zim's going off to find Tak, I'm hoping I'll be able to figure it out by myself."

"Well, since it's a _girl_, I wouldn't be surprised if it's complicated," said Eddy.

Double D looked at his friend. "So you're saying that the fact that she's the member of an advanced alien race isn't a concern at all?"

"Exactly," said Eddy.

Double D sighed. "Sometimes I wonder why I hang out with you," he said.

"It's 'cause there's no way you'd get any jawbreakers if you didn't," said Eddy. Suddenly, something caught his eye. "Ooh, speaking of which…"

Double D also looked. To their left, there was a large pile of finished jawbreakers.

"No use letting all these babies go to waste, right?" asked Eddy. He ran up to the pile, and was about to lick one, when…

"Eddy, _no_!" said Double D. "All these jawbreakers have been exposed to this intense heat! They're basically time bombs! One lick, and you'll have third-degree burns all over your face!"

"What?!" said Eddy. He glared at the jawbreaker pile with contempt. "If it wasn't for the need of my good looks, you'd all be mine…"

"If you say so, Eddy," said Double D, rolling his eyes.

After that, poor Double D had to practically drag Eddy through the factory. Everywhere they looked, there were jawbreakers everywhere. And every time, Double D would have to remind Eddy how Tak had basically made a building full of candy bombs.

Finally, the two boys had made it to the center of the factory, and they still hadn't seen any sign of Zim or Tak (Double D was still debating whether this was a good thing or not). They did, however, find the main machine that they were looking for.

Eddy stared at the obvious alien device amongst all the jawbreaker-making machines. "Hmm," he said. "I'm pretty sure that wasn't there the last time we were here."

"Albeit, it's been a while since we've been here," said Double D. "But I'm going to have to agree with you, Eddy. This isn't supposed to be here."

"Especially in a place that's supposed to bring joy to people," said Eddy. "I say we get rid of it."

"And by "we," you mean me?" asked Double D.

"Exactly," said Eddy, grinning.

Double D sighed. "I don't know why I even ask anymore…" he said. "Well, I suppose we should find anything that looks like an "off" button…"

"There'll be no need for that," an icy, female voice suddenly cut through the dark, hot factory. "You've already pushed _my _buttons."

Eddy and Double D whipped around, only to be staring at the nose of a large, futuristic-looking gun, held by a _very _annoyed-looking Tak.

"So, uh…" said Eddy, "what do you think Ed is doing?"

--

"…And so, with our hero piloting the cold planet of Mercury, he flew as fast as he could after the evil Ice Beings, who were controlling Mars, to stop their plan of revenge against Earth for excluding Pluto from the Solar System. Our hero knew that if he didn't stop the Ice Beings, all life on Earth would be flattened by the massive Red Planet!"

As Eddy and Double D were infiltrating the jawbreaker factory, Ed continued to read out loud from his comic book for Gir and MiniMoose.

"Ooh…" Gir said, then his eyes seemed to light up with recognition. "Ooh! Just like Master and Big-Headed Boy!"

"What?" asked Ed.

"What?" Gir asked back.

"Uh…okay," said Ed. He turned back to his comic book. "So, anyway…"

Suddenly, the main monitor began flashing red, and an alarm sounded.

"_**Incoming transmission from the Massive**_," Zim's computer spoke up. "_**Accept?**_"

Ed looked at the main monitor. "Massive what?" he asked.

"Yes!" said Gir. MiniMoose gave a squeak.

"Wait!" said Ed, turning back to Gir. "Massive what?"

Suddenly, Ed felt like there were two pairs of eyes staring at the back of his head. He whirled around and looked at the main monitor.

Sure enough, two aliens that looked similar to Zim were staring straight at Ed. However, they did have some differences from Zim: one of them had bright red eyes and wore red clothing, while the other one had purple eyes and wore purple clothing. But the main difference between these two aliens and Zim was…they were both so _tall_.

Ed's eyes widened, and he quickly looked at his comic book for reference. Then, he turned back to the monitor.

"Greetings, beings from another void!" said Ed. "I am Ed, defender of all things horror and poultry-related!" A pause. Then… "Wanna see me walk on my eyebrow?'

The two aliens just stared at the unfamiliar character that just happened to be in Zim's lair. Then, the one with red eyes and clothing decided to speak up.

"…Gir?" he asked hesitantly. "Is that you?"

"Why do you think Zim made him such an ugly disguise?" the alien with purple eyes whispered to his red counterpart.

Meanwhile, Ed looked confused. "Grr?" he asked. "Like a dog?"

Suddenly, Gir hopped into view. "HI!" he chirped.

"Oh, there he is," said the purple-eyed alien.

"Gir, who is this?" the red-eyed alien asked, gesturing to Ed.

"This is Peanut Head!" said Gir. "Master's been makin' all sorts of friends since we moved!"

"Yeah, like me!" said Ed.

"Moved?" asked the purple-eyed alien. "You aren't living in that one town with that large-headed boy anymore?"

"Double D says Eddy has a big mouth," said Ed. "Does that count?"

The purple-eyed alien looked at Ed. "…No," he said.

The red-eyed alien sighed. "Why are we even doing this?" he asked. "I mean, it's not like Zim's a _real _Invader. I thought we went through this already. Why do we keep checking up on him like this?"

"Well, since Zim's not here, we can't tell him that his mission is a fake," said the purple-eyed alien. "That's a shame. I wanted to see the look on his face when we told him…"

"Zim's mission is a fake?" asked Ed. He thought for a moment. "Wait, my brain is working!" he suddenly said. "That's what the scary alien lady said!"

"Scary alien lady?" asked the red-eyed alien.

"Yep," said Ed. "She had a uniform like Zim's, and curly antenna, and eyes like…yours!" he finished, pointing to the purple-eyed alien.

The two aliens looked at each other, then back at Ed.

"You mean Tak?" asked the purple-eyed alien.

"Ooh, yeah!" said Ed. "That's her. I don't like her; she was really grumpy…"

"Huh," said the red-eyed alien. "I thought she was jettisoned into space by Zim."

"Hey, if she's here, we won't need to worry about telling Zim anything," said the purple-eyed alien. "She's probably finishing him off as we speak!"

"Hey, yeah!" said the red-eyed alien.

"Finishing him off?" asked Ed. "That's not very nice…"

The two aliens looked back at Ed, as if he had said the dumbest thing in the universe.

"Kid, we're the Tallest," said the red-eyed alien. "We don't _do _nice."

"Well, I think our work here is done," said the purple-eyed alien. He turned to Zim's minions. "We'd ask you two to give Zim our best regards, but we don't have any!"

With that, the two aliens began laughing as the picture faded, and cut back to the image of the jawbreaker factory.

Ed continued to stare at the screen. "What was that?" he asked.

"_**Those two were the Tallest**_," said Zim's computer. "_**The rulers of Irk, and the Irkens. It is their duty to check the progress of all Invaders.**_"

Ed paused. "Well I don't like them," he finally said. "They were making fun of Zim. Like Kevin they are! Zim is cool."

"_**Someone sticking up for Zim?**_" Zim's computer asked. "_**This must be, as you humans put it, a sign of the apocalypse…**__"_


	11. Eddy's One Lucky SonofaGun

**Invad-ED**

Chapter 10: Eddy is One Lucky Son-of-a-Gun

Double D looked from Eddy, to the giant drill, to Tak. He racked his brain trying to think of something that would make the situation better. There was still no sign of Zim.

"Now, Tak…" he began, trying to maintain his composure. "We're all rational…beings, let's say…right? Why, I'm sure if we just talked this out, we can come so some sort of compromise…"

"Attempting to negotiate with someone who's trying to blow up the Earth?" asked Eddy. "Yeah, real smooth, Double D."

"_Eddy_…" Double D said through clenched teeth. "Let me handle this…"

"There's nothing to compromise," said Tak. "As an Invader, it's my job to invade planets. And I intend to see my plan through to the end, in spite of you meddling humans."

"Hey, I'm only here to get jawbreakers," said Eddy. "And I thought you said Zim took your position."

"And now I'm taking it back," said Tak. "And since I've got you two cornered and Zim seems to have abandoned you, there's nobody left to stop me."

"Zim's not here?" asked Double D. "Impossible! He came here with us!"

Meanwhile, Eddy was focused on the piles of jawbreakers that were strewn across the factory. "Man, I wish Ed had come with us," he grumbled. "_He _wouldn't be stopped by anything when it comes to jawbreakers."

Suddenly, feedback began sounding over the loudspeakers in the jawbreaker factory.

"Uh…test, test…" said an all-too-familiar voice over the intercom.

"Ed?" asked Eddy. "Ed, is that you?!"

--

Meanwhile, Ed was still in Zim's lab, with Gir and MiniMoose. But now, he was holding a small microphone provided by Zim's computer. Ed was still staring at the monitors, which now showed all the angles of the jawbreaker factory.

"Oh, uh, hi guys!" said Ed. "I can see you guys on all these TV screens!"

"You mean the monitors?" asked Double D. "But…how?"

"It couldn't have been Ed," said Eddy. "Who helped you, Lumpy?"

"Um…it was the computer," said Ed. "It did…something." Ed turned to address the computer. "What'd you do again?"

A metallic-sounding sigh resonated off the lab's walls. "_**I hacked into the factory's security system,**_" said Zim's computer. "_**And I've gained control over all the factory's machines. You're welcome.**_"

--

"Uh…thanks?" asked Double D.

"Well…so what?!" said Tak. "Even if you _do _have control over the rest of the factory, it's not like you two can do anything."

"Nor do I plan to," said Eddy. "Hey, Ed!" he called to the ceiling. "Ask the computer if these machines can be turned on and I'll bring us home a little late-night snack!"

--

"You got it, Eddy!" said Ed. He looked up at the ceiling. "Uh…did you hear all that, or should I say it again?" He paused. "Wait…what did Eddy want?"

"_**Apparently, your friend sees an easy way to heighten his sugar intake,**_" said Zim's computer. "_**However, I fail to see how creating more of those sugar balls will help the present situation…**_"

"What?" asked Ed. He turned back to the monitors. "Oh look, jawbreakers!" he exclaimed. "Can you make more?"

Zim's computer sighed again. "_**Jawbreaker machines warming up…**_" it droned. "_**Estimated starting time of jawbreaker production…five minutes.**_"

"Aww…" said Ed.

--

"The Earth is about to be hollowed out for an alien race, and all you can think about is jawbreakers?" asked Double D.

"Aw, come on, look around," said Eddy, gesturing to the surrounding area. "Can you blame me?"

Double D also looked around; the room _did _have a substantial amount of jawbreakers in the factory. "Well…I suppose you have a point, for once…"

BANG!

The jawbreaker factory's entire foundation suddenly shook.

"Geez!" said Eddy. "That drill's doing a number, huh?"

Double D looked around, and then spotted something in one of the windows. "I'd probably hazard another guess," he said, "that Zim ramming his ship into the factory is causing it to shake."

"What?!" said Tak. "That idiot!" Then, without another word, she ran out of the factory, forgetting about the two human boys she had left right next to her drill.

"Phew…" said Eddy, beginning to fan himself off. "Is it me, or is it getting hotter in here?'

Double D looked down in the hole the drill had been making. "Oh, my…" he said. He could just make out molten rock being sucked up through the drill. "The Earth's being hollowed out as we speak! We have to act immediately!" Double D then began to look for the drill's controls.

"Uh, yeah…you do that," said Eddy. Meanwhile, _he _began looking for the switch that turned on the jawbreaker machines.

--

"ZIM!" Tak shouted up at the other Irken, who was repeatedly ramming his Voot Cruiser against the side of the factory. "If you value your pathetic existence any longer, you'll stop that right now!"

"Not a chance!" Zim called down from his ship. "I see the molten rock pouring out the top of this factory. But it can't go anywhere if the factory's brought to the ground!"

"In case you haven't noticed, genius, I can still stop you!" said Tak.

"Yeah, right!" Zim laughed. "And how do you expect to do that? I know for a fact that you aren't in possession of your ship anymore!"

Suddenly, a sly grin appeared on Tak's face. "I was hoping you'd say that…" she drawled. "And that would be a problem…if I hadn't been flung to a planet covered in scrap metal and built…_this_!"

Tak pressed a button on her wristband, and out of the woods slunk a hulking, dark red spaceship that was twice the size of her first one.

Zim's red eyes widened. "Oh, Irk," he mumbled. His ship suddenly backed up, and then zipped up into the sky.

Tak smirked, then jumped right into her mammoth spaceship, where Mimi was waiting for her.

--

"_**Machines ready for jawbreaker production,**_" Zim's computer droned.

"Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!" said Ed.

"Yay, we're doomed!" said Gir.

MiniMoose squeaked.

"_**Standby in three…two…one…**_"

--

Suddenly, the machines whirled to life inside the factory, and jawbreakers began popping out of them.

"Now _that's_ what I'mtalking about!" said Eddy. He ran up to the newly made jawbreakers and began to grab them one by one. He held one out to Double D. "Want one?" he asked.

"No! Kinda busy!" said Double D, who was still messing with the drill.

"All right, I'll hold onto it for you," said Eddy.

--

The next thing Zim knew, he was zooming up into the stars, with Tak in hot pursuit. The molten lava from the Earth's core was also sailing upwards, albeit at a much slower pace.

"You can't win, Zim!" said Tak. "I know what you did to mess me up last time, and I've made sure that it doesn't happen again! Which means I can hit you with everything I got!"

"Drat…" Zim hissed. He looked down at the Earth; it was getting smaller very quickly. "No! I am _not _giving up my mission that easily!" He turned on his intercom. "Computer! Attempt an analysis on Tak's new ship and attack any opening you can find!"

--

"_**Affirmative,**_" said Zim's computer. "_**Searching…**_"

"For what?" asked Ed. He got no response. "…" Ed stared at the screen a little more, then… "BORING!"

"Hey, Peanut Head!" Gir suddenly chirped. "Wanna dance?"

Ed looked at Gir. "Uh, sorry…I can't dance." Then, his face lit up. "But I can sing! Watch!" He grabbed the microphone, and then began to screech out a song, while Gir began to dance. "_You…you got what I need…_"

--

"_But you say he's just a friend, but you say he's just a friend, oh baby…_"

Eddy stopped his stockpiling on jawbreakers to stare at the loudspeakers, which were now spewing out cacophony, courtesy of Ed.

"And _that's _why I'll never take Ed to a karaoke party," said Eddy. "How you doing, Double D?"

Double D, however, was not so calm. "Any help would be greatly appreciated here!" he said, continuing to panic because he couldn't find the drill's controls.

Suddenly, amongst Ed's tone-deaf singing, Zim's computer could be heard saying, "_**Search complete. No known weaknesses found.**_"

--

"WHAT?!" said Zim.

ZAP!

Zim's ship was suddenly flung backward by a very strong laser, just missing the stream of lava.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to do that, Zim!" Tak sneered. "Now you're going to _pay_."

--

"Aw, c'mon!" Gir whined.

"I'm _sorry_, puppy!" said Ed. "I can't remember the rest of the song."

"_**I'd hate to interrupt, but we seem to be having bigger problems,**_" said Zim's computer. "_**I can't find any weak spots on Tak's ship. However…If we were to find a strong enough electrical current, it may short out the ship long enough for Zim to attack…**_"

Ed stared at the screens for a minute, then a big grin appeared on his face. "I think I just thunk," he said. He then began rooting around in the pockets of his jacket, almost completely jumping into them.

"Roomy!" said Gir.

Then, Ed pulled something out. "Bingo!" he exclaimed.

It was a pair of slippers.

"Double D taught me this," said Ed, putting the slippers on. "Uh…you got a carpet?"

Gir smiled. He reached into his head and out popped a small shag rug with a monkey sewed into it. "I love this monkey…" he said.

"Okay, here I go!" said Ed. He began to shuffle around in circles on the shag carpet.

Zim's computer seemed to get the idea. "_**Starting emergency reboot program…**_" it said.

Soon, Ed's eyebrow began sparking with all the pent-up energy. "It's working!" he said. He continued to shuffle around, soon moving throughout the entire lab.

"Ooh!" said Gir. "He's lighting up! HE'S A LIGHTBULB!"

MiniMoose squeaked in agreement.

Soon, Ed was shining so bright, you couldn't see him anymore. "Now for the good part!" said Ed. He reached out with one finger toward Gir, preparing to touch him.

"Zappity zap zap!"

--

BOOOOOM!

Eddy and Double D looked up as the lights in the factory suddenly flickered then came back on. Unfortunately, this didn't stop the drill.

"What was that?" asked Eddy.

"A power surge?" asked Double D. "_Now_? Oh, and I _still _haven't found anything to shut this thing off!"

Suddenly, Eddy saw something next to the jawbreaker machine. He walked over to it.

"Hey, Double D," he called to his friend. "Did you try this?"

--

Zim was not doing so good. Tak was hitting him with everything she had. And…she basically had everything you could think of. At the moment, Zim had once again been flung back by the sheer force of Tak's ship. As he sailed through the open space, the Voot Cruiser's left thruster just grazed the lava.

"You might _say _you've never made a mistake, Zim," said Tak as Zim was recovering from the last blow to his ship, "but I'm telling you right now that you just did." Her eyes narrowed. "You ticked me off one too many times."

Zim was breathing heavily, fighting to keep control of his ship.

"I've only got one shot," he muttered to himself. "If I can just get close enough like this…I can…"

ZAP!

Then, without warning, a giant bolt of lightning tore its way up the giant stream of molten lava (**A/N**: 'Cause this is a fanfic, and the laws of physics don't apply), and shot right through Tak's ship, causing a high-pitched screech to be heard, but only by Zim. Because you know what they say: in space, no one can hear you scream.

"Huh?" asked Zim. "Uh, I mean…ah-ha! Just like I planned it!"

Then, he shot the Voot Cruiser up to Tak's now motionless ship.

Despite just having 1000 volts of electricity shot through her, Tak was desperately trying to fend off Zim. "Come on!" she grunted, desperately pushing buttons. "Please work!"

But it was too late: Tak suddenly found her ship in the clutches of two tentacles that had emerged from Zim's Voot Cruiser.

"As humans would say…" said Zim, as the tentacles tightened, "Game, set, and match."

Then, the tentacles hoisted Tak's burnt-to-a-crisp ship above the Voot Cruiser, then flung the ship far away from Earth, Tak, Mimi, and all.

Zim smiled at his handiwork. "Well, glad that's over," he said. Then, something else clicked in his mind. "Oh yeah, the Earth's core."

But when he turned around, he was surprised to see that the molten lava appeared to be being sucked back into Earth, just like last time.

"Oh…" For a moment, Zim was at a loss. "Hmm…well, I'd better hurry back so I can take credit for that, too."

--

"Are you okay, puppy?!" asked Ed. He was tending to Gir, who had been shot against the wall by the giant burst of electricity that had surged through the now-dark lab.

Gir's eyes appeared gray and lifeless. Then, they slowly flickered back to life, and Gir sat up.

"Whoo!" he exclaimed. "Do that again!"

MiniMoose, who had also been worried, squeaked happily.

Then, the lights in the lab flickered back on, along with all the monitors.

"_**Reboot completed,**_" said Zim's computer. "_**My sensors indicate that the Earth's core is returning as well.**_"

"Really?" asked Ed. "That means Eddy, Double D, and Zim fixed it!"

"How?" asked Gir.

--

Double D stood next to Eddy, a stunned expression on his face. In front of him was a small control panel with a single, large button. Above it was a large label that read "ON/OFF."

"That's all it took?" asked Double D.

"Yep," said Eddy. "Now why can't our science class be this easy?"

Double D let out an exasperated sigh. "Well, I suppose we should leave before anything else happens…" he mumbled, making for the exit.

"Hey, cheer up!" said Eddy. "I got us some victory food!" He still held three jawbreakers.

"Of course…" said Double D. "So, what do you think happened to Zim?"

--

"There it is!" Zim exclaimed, catching sight of the jawbreaker factory. "Now, I just need to make a smooth landing, and…"

BONK!

Zim's Voot Cruiser shook as it bounced off a corner of the factory.

"Ooh," said Zim, looking back at the factory as he zipped by. "That didn't sound good…Oh, well."

--

Ed was watching the monitors with Gir and MiniMoose when suddenly, one half of the factory seemed to crumble before their very eyes. They could just make out two little dots running away from the collapsing building. Ed squinted.

"Hey…" he said. Then, his face lit up. "Eddy's got jawbreakers! Come on, guys!" He then ran to the elevator, followed by Gir and MiniMoose.

If Zim's computer had eyes, it would have rolled them.

--

Double D stared at the now half-demolished jawbreaker factory. He then looked at Eddy, who was facedown on the ground, still holding the jawbreakers. What was even more amazing was that a cluster of bricks, which used to be one of the factory's chimneys, was inches away from Eddy's feet.

"Eddy…" said Double D, "you are one lucky son-of-a-gun!"

"Yeah, I know!" said Eddy, getting up. He looked at the jawbreakers. "Look! They're still eatable!"

Since Double D _did _have eyes, he rolled them.


	12. Sweet Normalcy Once More

**Invad-Ed**

Chapter 11: Sweet "Normalcy" Once More

The next morning, there wasn't much to show that anything out of the ordinary had happened in Peach Creek. The school was now minus one classmate, on account that she had been flung into space with her SIR unit and overridden space ship. The jawbreaker factory had mysteriously crumbled on one side, so jawbreaker production would have to momentarily halt.

Nope, nothing out-of-the-ordinary there.

There was one last thing that was different this morning: the glowing green house that had, before, resided deep in the woods outside Peach Creek, was gone.

Now, the only thing in Peach Creek's woods (besides the enormous Ice Hotel) was a small, floating space ship containing a green-skinned alien, a small blue-eyed robot, and a purple floating moose. Three boys with the same name were bidding them farewell.

"Aww…do you really have to leave, Zim?" asked Ed.

"You're perfectly welcome to stay here," said Double D.

"Yeah, if it weren't for the fact that you want to take over the Earth," said Eddy, who was disappointed now that he had finished his jawbreaker.

Zim looked at the three boys standing beside his Voot Cruiser. He sighed. "I suppose Zim should be…_flattered _by your offers," he said, "but this town just isn't the same as the one where we previously resided. Plus, there are too many people here who want to beat up Zim."

"Well, you got a point there," said Eddy.

"Like I said, do whatever what will make you happy, Zim," said Double D.

"Well, it's not like Zim actually _misses _his old rival," said Zim. "It's just that…it's easier to beat him because there's only _one _of him, unlike three of you."

"And one head is better than three!" said Ed.

"Indeed…one extremely _big _head…" said Zim. "Well, anyway, I suppose this is…goodbye, Ed-humans."

"Bye, Peanut Head!" Gir called to Ed.

"Bye, Puppy!" said Ed.

MiniMoose squeaked.

And with that, Zim's Voot Cruiser rose into the air and began to sail away from Peach Creek.

"Well, what a day, huh?" asked Double D.

"And all the cheese is still intact," said Ed.

"Whatever," said Eddy. Then, he began to walk back in the direction of his latest pride and joy. "Now that all the drama's over, how about getting back to what's important. Like, say, our Ice Hotel?"

"You're still thinking about that even after all that has happened?" asked Double D.

"Why shouldn't I?" asked Eddy. "We've been busting our butts for weeks to get that thing done, and now we just got it done just as…" At this point, the Eds had made it to the Ice Hotel. "Just as…" Then, as Eddy was talking, he turned to his Ice Hotel. But what he saw made his words stop on the edge of his tongue.

Apparently, when the Earth's molten core was being drained, it had a drastic effect on the Ice Hotel; it didn't help that the sun was now blazing right above it. However, the point was this: Ed Edd n Eddy's Ice Hotel was now halfway melted to the ground.

"Just as the spring thaw comes in, huh Eddy?" asked Ed.

--

As Zim was flying away with Gir and MiniMoose, he suddenly heard a far-off cry in the distance.

"NOOOOOOOOoooooooo…"

"Master!" said Gir. "That big-mouthed boy's talkin' like you again!"

Zim just shook his head, allowing a small smirk appear on his face.

"Humans," he mumbled.

* * *

**Author's Note**: And there you have it. Zim's adventure with the Eds has finally come to a close. Albeit, this chapter's a little short, but what are you gonna do? I should probably be thrilled now; I'm free to finally start work on _Spring Break with an Ed. _It's a good thing, too; I've been brainstorming about that story _forever_! Anyway, thanks to everyone who has favorited and reviewed _Invad-Ed_. I'm grateful, as with all my stories. Keep your eyes peeled for the last story in the "Ed Edd n Eddy/Nightmare Before Christmas/Gorillaz" saga, which is coming very soon. Until then, happy reading! ;)-**AMX**

**Coming Soon**: _Spring Break with an Ed_


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